Thursday, 30 May 2013

I have been enchanted with movies since my childhood, especially Hindi cinema, just like any other living, breathing Indian. Cinema is an integral part of our lives and how much ever we deny it, we are crazy for our Bollywood movies and its music.

My father was a movie fan when he was younger and I think I got his genes for being crazy about the movies. He is no longer interested in movies but my mother tells me that he used to buy books that had lyrics of Hindi movie songs. He also had a cassette collection, which had entire movies recorded on it. As a child, I must have heard the movies "Sholay" in its entirety more than 30 times and "Muqaddar ka Sikandar" for more than 15 times on our cassette player, even before I saw these movies on Television. I still remember all the dialogues of 'Sholay' very clearly, such was the power of cinema.

Going to the movies has always been a magical experience for me. The city where I grew up had no multiplexes. We had single cinema halls that screened 4 shows in a day, with the first show starting at 12 noon, the next would be at 3 pm, then 6 pm and the last show was screened at 9 pm. If my sister and I wanted to see the 6 pm show, we needed to take permission from our parents and the night show was always out of bounds. All the movie halls had three types of seating arrangement. There was a Reserve category, which was cheapest price wise and was closest to the screen. The next was Balcony which was costlier and had some of the best seats and the last was stall, which was a raised balcony with very few seats and was exclusive. I never could afford the price for stall tickets and till now have never seen a movie from that section.
The thrill of watching any movie first day, first show can not be experienced now. Today, one can sit comfortably in their own home and book tickets and even select their own seats. The hard work that took to procure tickets for a movie that is booked solid for weeks felt like an adventure. The joy of watching a movie before any of your friends made you feel great. I can still remember the peculiar mixture of sweat, urine and Samosas that permeated many of the theatres. Standing in a long line to book tickets was the usual norm. The man behind the ticket counter was akin to god and I would be praying all the time that the tickets would get sold out only after I had my movie ticket in my hand.
While growing up, it was a big treat to see a movie and also get to eat Samosas and drink chilled Gold Spot in the interval. Popcorn was not so good as it would turn my fingers Yellow, but now I enjoy it a lot. Buying movie tickets in Black, by paying extra to some unscrupulous character was frowned upon, but was considered necessary, when the movie was a super hit and you just had to see it.

The movie posters and banners used to be hand painted earlier and the resemblance of the stars on the poster to their actual photograph was completely at the mercy of the artist who painted the posters. These were later replaced by very colourful posters depicting a few of the scenes from the movie. Now, the posters are glossy, attractive and sometimes entice you to see a movie that turns out to be a total dud.
I remember the excitement I felt, when I would go to watch a movie. I would be eager to search my seat and wait for the movie to start. There used to be that inevitable National films division documentary, an advertisement for "Vicco Vajradanti" cream and toothpaste and some depressing Black and White short film about agriculture. I would get fidgety and restless and then the movie would start. Three hours would rush by and I would be mesmerised and engrossed in the fights scenes, songs and the histrionics of the actors. The English movies were even a bigger treat as they were screened at only a few dedicated cinema halls. I have seen Benhur, Ten Commandments, Mackenna's Gold, Where Eagles dare and a lot of cowboy movies in the cinema hall with my sister. I had a secret crush on Charlton Heston and his Blue eyes.Many a times, I did not understand the American twang but the action scenes made the story quite clear. I have dragged so many of my friends to see even downright shoddy movies, such was the pull of cinema for me.
Even today, I feel the same excitement and thrill, when I book those tickets and buy that bucket of popcorn and sit to experience the wonder of cinema. For those three hours, I forget my worries and I am ready to be swept away on another wonderful adventure with the characters in the movie.
This is my tribute to the 100 years of Indian cinema and to all the people who take us to breathtaking places and introduce us to stories that enrich our lives and make us feel emotions, we never knew, we had.

Sunday, 12 May 2013

There is a hollow in the pit of my stomach and a dull ache in my heart today, when I think of you my child and at my stillborn attempt at becoming a mother.People say it is time I was healed and had mended my broken heart, but the scars are still raw and bleeding. People say I have mourned enough and that it was time to let go. I want to believe them but my tears speak a different story. Can grief have an expiration date? I ask them.I long to hold you in my arms and look into your eyes as you look up at me in wonderment.I want to caress your soft skin and smell that baby smell, which is a part of me.

I want to wipe your tears away and hold you tight so that you feel safe and loved. I want to hear your sweet giggles and the pitter patter of your tiny feet as walk in your squeaky shoes. I want to hear the chimes of your sweet, innocent voice.

I want to experience the sleepless nights, the dirty diapers and the strength with which you hold my thumb in your tiny fingers, giving me courage to become a mother.

I want to feel your wet kisses on my cheeks and sticky fingers on my clothes. I want to stub my toe on the toys littered on the floor in your room. I want to meet your friends and call them over for sandwiches and milkshakes on long Summer days. I want to measure your height every year and mark it on a wall to see how tall you have grown.I want to scold you when you don't do your chores and give you time outs when you behave badly.I want to experience the pride when your teacher praises you. I want to come to your annual day function at school and clap the loudest, when you perform in the school play or cheer for you when you are in a race on sports day in school.I want to teach you how to ride a bicycle and buy you the bike you always wanted, when you start college. I want to have endless arguments with you when you rebel in your teenage years.

I want to know how it feels when you get your first job and take me out for a treat from your first salary.I want to feel, how it is to be a mother. I want to know, how it is to be a mother.

On day's like today, I remember of that empty space in my heart that belongs to you. I am reminded that I will never get a Mother's day card or a call wishing me 'Happy Mother's day'.On day's like today, I have that dull ache in my heart that refuses to go away.

Saturday, 11 May 2013

This time there were so many good captions that it was very difficult for me to choose from. But choose I had to. Here is the winner of the Caption Contest 20, ‘You think you are funny?’ Anirban Mitra : That's child's play, papa.